Treat yourself to a homemade, dairy free and sugar free chocolate bar for Easter! It’s very easy to make, especially if like me you always have coconut oil in your cupboard!

I’m always on the look out for sugar free chocolate. You can buy dairy free, but refined sugar free is hard to find. I don’t eat refined sugar as it makes me feel dizzy and jittery! So I decided to make my own sugar free chocolate bar! I used agave nectar to sweeten the chocolate which is low GI and doesn’t give you that unhealthy sugar rush!

Halva is deliciously sweet and easy to make! The dessert is popular in the Middle East. This version is made from chana which are chickpeas. It is vegan as I have replaced the butter with coconut oil and the dairy milk with almond milk. My family found it very tasty!

I am fond of Middle Eastern dishes especially hummus, dhal and falafel. Perhaps I had a past-life in Egypt!

Makes 9 pieces

Ingredients

150g Chickpeas

3tbsp Coconut Oil

150ml Almond Milk

½ tsp Ground Cardamom

6 tbsp Agave Nectar

50g Cashew Nuts

50g Almonds

Method

Soak the chickpeas in cold water overnight.

Drain the chickpeas and blend them while still wet to form a paste.

Melt the coconut oil in a non-stick pan. Add the chickpea paste and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.

Now pour in the almond milk. Bring to the boil and then simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add in the agave nectar, ground cardamom and roughly chopped cashew nuts and almonds. Simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring regularly until you have a sticky dough.

Pour the dough into a square baking tray and leave to cool for 30 minutes.

Put in the freezer overnight.

Next morning take the halva out of the freezer to defrost for 1 hour. Cut the halva into rectangles and enjoy!

Treat yourself to these delicious yet healthy gluten-free, vegan chocolate muffins! They are perfect to have as an afternoon snack and will satisfy your sweet tooth! The quinoa and brown rice make them high in vegan protein!

Makes 12

90g Quinoa

90g Brown Rice

1tbsp Coconut Oil

2tbsp Ground Flaxseed

3tbsp Cacao Powder

4tbsp Agave Nectar

1tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

2tsp Baking Soda

1/4tsp Pink crystal salt

300ml Almond Milk

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Grease each section of a muffin tray with coconut oil.

Add all the ingredients into a Vitamix blender. Blend for 30 seconds until well mixed.

Next spoon the mixture into the 12 sections of the muffin tray. Fill up each section to about ¾ full.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes.

When they are cooked, leave them to cool for 5 minutes and then carefully remove each muffin and place on a rack to cool.